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New Cockatiel! Crest hasn't gone down...

Paintz

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(I'm not sure on the gender because of her age and morph, but considering she is only lightly pied, I'll assume she's a girl.)
Well, let me be more specific. It goes halfway down when she's eating. She finally came in via United on monday circa 6:20 pm. She's also flighty! I expected that, but she's the most peculiar in behavior out of all the birds I've tamed. For one, she's very interested in what I'm doing, and whistles along with me, and even came out the cage yesterday (walked out by herself and climbed onto the bed!), however she was very upset, screaming, flapping, and biting about when i tried to put her back. i tried to calm her first by putting her on my training perch, but she flew down immediately, and hissed quite a bit throughout the whole encounter. She has barely talked until today, which i thought she would still be PO'd after the struggle yesterday. right now she is whistling a lot! She seems to enjoy my company, though, so I've continued to come back in the room a few times.

I studied cockatiels a lot, but I'm afraid my knowelege is remedial on what's normal, as its been a while since i interacted with one directly. they are rarer than conures in my state and I'm worried i'm doing something wrong, esp. since I've worried I've been messing up somehow. I feel like I might have just lucked out in taming my other bird and previous ones, as my lovebird and conure were adopted from a lovely local breeder who spoils their babies! Should I stop coming in and sitting/laying down until she seems interested in talking to me? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

(The cage she is in is the travel cage I keep around, not the full sized cage I have for her. I figured it would be better to train her in.)
20170919_071510.jpg 20170921_101624.jpg
 

sunnysmom

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She's a cutie. However, if she's really vocal, I suspect you have a little boy, not a girl. No, keep spending time with your tiel. It souds lke he/she wants company. Spend time sitting with her, talking to her, even reading to her. When you leave, do you play music or anything for her? Silence during the day can be scary. It actually sounds like she's settling in well.
 

Tiel Feathers

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Congratulations, what a cutie! Since you've only had her since Monday, she's still settling in and nervous of her new surroundings. I wouldn't try to pet her now, but just spend a lot of time dropping treats in her food cup, reading to her, etc. Also, petting a birds back is not a good idea, because it can stimulate hormones and lead to problematic behaviors. If she ever lets you pet her, keep it to her head. Just make sure to go at her pace, and never force her to do anything. It might take a while, but be patient, she'll get there!
 

Lwalker

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Don't worry about the crest. Here are some pointers someone gave me when I first had cockatiels:

1. A completely flat crest (tight to the head) usually means an upset bird (especially if accompanied by hissing) - He might be frightened or angry so is warding you off and telling you "Beware!"
2. A relaxed crest either at half mast or just raised a little with a upward curl, means your bird is a happy and mellow fellow - calm and relaxed. This is a normal position
3. A raised and alert crest usually means that your bird is interested and curious. If the crest snaps forward suddenly and is fully raised, it could mean that something has startled your bird and he is on guard!
 

Princessbella

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She looks young and is such a cutie! Is she eating? Sometimes they regress when they leave home. A good idea to figure if she is eating is to weigh her. I agree with everyone else to take it slow. Also when training, millet is birdie crack and can help.
 

Paintz

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She looks young and is such a cutie! Is she eating? Sometimes they regress when they leave home. A good idea to figure if she is eating is to weigh her. I agree with everyone else to take it slow. Also when training, millet is birdie crack and can help.
Yes, she is eating! I gave her about 1 1/4" of millet (a bit much i know) and shes been eating it up.

Don't worry about the crest. Here are some pointers someone gave me when I first had cockatiels:

1. A completely flat crest (tight to the head) usually means an upset bird (especially if accompanied by hissing) - He might be frightened or angry so is warding you off and telling you "Beware!"
2. A relaxed crest either at half mast or just raised a little with a upward curl, means your bird is a happy and mellow fellow - calm and relaxed. This is a normal position
3. A raised and alert crest usually means that your bird is interested and curious. If the crest snaps forward suddenly and is fully raised, it could mean that something has startled your bird and he is on guard!
Oh, that's great! I was worried she hated me ^^" I'll keep that in mind, as I couldn't find much info about it. I was going off how my budgie used his "crest" to express himself, but i didnt consider that cockatiels use their crests differently!

Congratulations, what a cutie! Since you've only had her since Monday, she's still settling in and nervous of her new surroundings. I wouldn't try to pet her now, but just spend a lot of time dropping treats in her food cup, reading to her, etc. Also, petting a birds back is not a good idea, because it can stimulate hormones and lead to problematic behaviors. If she ever lets you pet her, keep it to her head. Just make sure to go at her pace, and never force her to do anything. It might take a while, but be patient, she'll get there!
Noted! And I took your advice and bought some millet and put some in! I don't usually have much but I forgot to bring my supply back from Orlando...it was really good quality, too... oh well

She's a cutie. However, if she's really vocal, I suspect you have a little boy, not a girl. No, keep spending time with your tiel. It souds lke he/she wants company. Spend time sitting with her, talking to her, even reading to her. When you leave, do you play music or anything for her? Silence during the day can be scary. It actually sounds like she's settling in well.
I'll get them DNA tested to make sure, just in case I have to watch for egg binding! I'm not picky, but I do tend to pick pronouns when getting a bird now, and keep the sex for medical purposes, of course. I figure they don't mind much. In fact, I started doing this because my first bird, Gaston, was a budgie with a beautiful blue cere, and one day when he was about 3 years old his cere just turned a flaky brown! I was shocked and thought he had cancer...but DNA tests proved he was a very healthy little girl. I do not know why it happened so late, but apparently this happens with many blue budgies!
 

iamwhoiam

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Cute 'tiel. Congratulations.
 
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